McCain's Verbal Gaffes: Senior Moment or Fatigue?

John McCain’s campaign communicators have been complaining because they say Barack Obama is getting the lion’s share of news coverage while John McCain is getting short shrift. So, for the last few days (perhaps a little longer) there has been a debate over the imbalance in media attention. Well, McCain and his supporters have a point. A study by an organization called the “Project for Excellence in Journalism” has found that Obama was a significant or dominant factor in 83 percent of the election stories, while McCain was a dominant or significant factor in only 52 percent of stories. Right this moment, Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson, and Brian Williams are all in Europe to cover Obama’s overseas trip. That leaves McCain’s campaign coverage to second stringers and pool reporters. We can be pretty sure who will get the most air time.

There is, however, another side to this issue. Some have argued that it is McCain who is being treated best by the media. The reasoning is that every word Obama utters is scrutinized, criticized, and analyzed. Any misstatements or verbal gaffes by Obana will be immediately broadcast around the world and repeated over and over.

McCain on the other hand has made gaffe after gaffe and very little has been said about it. On Good Morning America McCain referred to the Iraq-Pakistan border. Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Twice in recent days McCain has referred to Czechoslovakia which has not existed as a nation for about 15 years. He has constantly mixed up Sunnis and Shiites and has identified Vladimir Putin as president of Germany.

Now, let me be clear about this point. Running for President of the U.S. is a grueling exercise and I don’t, even for a moment, think that McCain is uninformed or lacks knowledge about any of the issues on which he has made verbal gaffes. If McCain goes from morning to evening making speeches two or more states a day and answering dozens of questions from his listeners, which is what he is doing, there are likely to be a few verbal gaffes. But, here’s the point. If McCain’s campaign stops were to get the same coverage that Obama’s are getting, such gaffes are likely to become fodder for news stories and people may begin to see them as “senior moments.” People may ask: Is his age catching up with him? Is he past his prime? Is he slipping a bit? Age is an issue with McCain, perhaps unfairly but it is and issue.

By the way, can you imagine what would happen if Obama has made the same kind of gaffes that McCain has made over and over. What would people say? Oh his inexperience is showing through. He does not even know that Iraq and Pakistan don’t share a border. So, with his extensive media coverage, Obama has to make very sure hs says exactly what he wants to say.

So, I would suggest that McCain should be careful what he wishes for. He might get it and what he gets might ruin his campaign.